women's rights

A new report from the Los Angeles Business Examiner reveals that corporations are seeing less and less women in boardrooms than ever before.  New studies published show that about 10% of executives are women.  The  study cited in this report shows that the demographic of these companies generally reflect the boardroom.  This is based on about 400 companies in California only.

The ranks of women in corporate executive suites and board rooms remain thin, even as research shows that companies with more women at the top perform better financially and might be more socially responsible.

That’s according to a study of California women business leaders released Thursday by the Graduate School of Management at the University of California Davis.

Women hold only about one out of every 10 top management and board positions — precisely 10.6 percent — in California’s largest 400 firms, according to the fifth annual Study of California Women Business Leaders.  That ratio has remained pretty consistent over the five years that the Graduate School has been studying the issue.

An Arizona website paints a sordid picture: a mysterious nation, exotic young woman clinging to life in a hospital, and the vengeful attempted murder by the father who felt she had wronged him.  Her lifestyle, the website says, is the cause of her current almost-dead state, not the jeep or the driver (her father) who drove over her 5 foot 3 inch frame. 

You see, according to this website, in Iraq, families whose daughters don't fall in line with the culture or the conservative traditions of that family, dishonor the whole family and must be killed in the name of honor and respect.  What is more, the newspaper suggests, this attempted murder, isn't really a murder at all, you see, because the father was enacting his right to honor-kill his.own.daughter.  The cause?  She had become too Westernized.

Go figure.

The AP reports:

SAN FRANCISCO — Pentagon statistics obtained by University of California researchers show that women are far more likely than men to be kicked out of the military under the "don't ask, don't tell policy" banning openly gay servicemembers.

Every military branch dismissed a disproportionate number of women in 2008 under the policy banning openly gay servicemembers. But the discrepancy was particularly marked in the Air Force, where women were a majority of those let go under the policy, even though they made up only 20 percent of personnel.

Across the military, women represented about one-third of the 619 people discharged based on sexual orientation. They account for just 15 percent of servicemembers.

The data was released Thursday by the Palm Center at the University of California, Santa Barbara.

With these statistics, it's doubly not surprising that the President considers his plate too full to deal with this, as Lesbian Women are like, one millionTH in line to get equal rights. Even with the tremendous strides the collective Women's Movements have made, when things like this come to the surface, the leader's response seem to be, "yeah sure, we'll get right on that". There seems to be so much yet to be accomplished.

-Sophia

A statement from President of the United States, Barack Obama:

This bipartisan accomplishment has ushered in a new era of responsibility in the fight to end violence against women. In the 15 years since VAWA became law, our Nation's response to domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking has strengthened. Communities recognize the special needs of victims and appreciate the benefits of collaboration among professionals in the civil and criminal justice system, victim advocates, and other service providers. With the support of VAWA funds, dedicated units of law enforcement officers and specialized prosecutors have grown more numerous than ever before. Most importantly, victims are more likely to have a place to turn for help -- for emergency shelter and crisis services, and also for legal assistance, transitional housing, and services for their children.

A statement from Speaker of the House,

Nancy Pelosi:

On the 15th anniversary of the Violence Against Women Act, we recognize the historic nature of this comprehensive legislation, and also the work that remains to be done. VAWA has brought communities together to address the appalling problem of violence against women and provided critical, life-saving support to so that victims do not have to suffer in silence. Based on the fundamental American value that no one should have to live in fear, this landmark legislation has improved the lives of countless. Women should feel safe whether in public or private: in their workplace, in their homes, and walking on the street. As we recognize the accomplishments of VAWA, we recognize that our work is not yet complete. We must continue vigorous enforcement against domestic violence and invest in initiatives that prevent crimes of violence against women. VAWA is an example of the power of a bipartisan group of legislators determined to make progress. Today we recommit to the goal of ending the scourge of violence against women once and for all.

From Amnesty International: Legislators will essentially ban abortions out right and deny in many cases, life saving treatment to women and girls. The mortality rate during child birth has risen in the last 10 years, in part due to the lack of medical care available and the lack of support from government entities.

Proposed changes to the constitution of the Dominican Republic could lead to a ban on abortions, putting the lives of women and girls at risk and potentially increasing maternal deaths in the country, Amnesty International has warned.

 

Article 30 of the constitution would introduce the inviolability of life from "conception to death" under the proposal. It is widely acknowledged that this will lead to changes in the country's Penal Code that could lead to a total abortion ban.

 

The Congress of the Dominican Republic is to vote on the proposed changes on Thursday.

 

If the article is approved as proposed, it would severely limit the availability of safe abortions, even in cases when a woman is suffering from life-threatening complications or is in need of life-saving treatment incompatible with pregnancy – such as that for malaria, cancer or HIV/AIDS.

With all the steps forward our society has taken, it is still fun and politically correct to laugh at someone that has been beaten, who has been publically humiliated, who is now subject to derision and late night humor. How did this happen? Why is this okay?

Women are murdered and the press asks “what did she do, who were her friends?” Why is her death somehow her responsibility? How can she still be faulted? She’s not even here to defend herself, and the press treats the crime as if she could have somehow avoided it.

This is what I fucking hate so much: the notion that we, as women, can somehow avoid being abused if we “do the right thing”. Go to the right school, don’t fuck around, have popular friends, come from an un-broken home. We should be able to look around and identify, at first sight, that our future high school boyfriend will someday grab our neck and choke us until we pass out, and avoid him at all costs. It is our responsibility to remain un-abused; it is not the abusers fault, because we should have known. And if we are slutty, bitchy, bi sexual, lesbian, wear tight clothing; well we are just asking for it, we deserve it.

Women and orgasms haven’t always been synonymous with sex. Tons of studies released have shown that the majority of sexually active women do NOT regularly have an orgasm. This is astonishing to me. How is this possible? Well, first, it’s not necessary in procreation that women have an orgasm. Secondly, one doesn’t achieve an orgasm simply by penetration as many sources contend (romance novels love to portray a woman’s climax from penetration only).

My purpose in writing this post isn’t to instruct in some detached clinical sense, how a women can achieve an orgasm (I mean seriously, buy a vibrator already). I am attempting to refute the recent notion presented in several different articles, that the orgasm isn’t necessary to good sex and that an orgasm is actually unhealthy. I also contend that the notion that sex(the great kind WITHOUT an orgasm) should always lead to a close, long-lasting, heteronormative relationship is harmful to women specifically, as they are encouraged to forgo their own pleasure in lieu of some far-fetched hope for a serious relationship (i.e.- marriage).

This is good news. (to be taken literally)

CNN reports that an FDA panel voted in favor of approving the use of the HPV vaccine in boys ages 7 to 26 years:

A Food and Drug Administration advisory committee voted Wednesday to recommend that the vaccine be made available to boys and young men aged 9 to 26 for protection against genital warts caused by HPV.

With the current FDA regulations allowing the use of this effective vaccine only in girls and women, comes the inference that women are responsible for HPV. The vaccine comes with risks, as do all vaccines, that women have had to accept in order to protect themselves and by extent, others, from dangerous forms of cancer and genital warts. If the FDA approves the use of Gardasil for boys and men, the responsibility for STI/STD prevention and sexual health is placed equally upon all parties having sex, not just us women.